Jupiter, FL - June 2022

               It was World Ocean Day and it was a beautiful day for some epic shark diving off the coast of Jupiter, Florida.  As we descended for our 3^rd dive to about 75 feet at the Deep Ledge, the 82°F water was a welcome change from the previous dive which I would describe as bone-chilling at just 4° cooler.  As our shark feeder, Liz, began to spread the scent of fish blood, we maintained our buoyancy in the calm, endless blue water column.  The action was a little slow to start as we remained stagnant, looking left, right, and all around for any signs of life to emerge.  And then she appeared.

A beautiful, shy silky shark, probably somewhere between 5 and 6 feet in length, approached us slowly and methodically.  She looked similar to the silky we encountered on our first dive about three and a half hours earlier, but with one noticeable difference.  This stunning creature had three or four hooks deeply embedded in the right corner of her jaw, one of which appeared to actually be piercing through her thick skin like a lip ring.  In addition to these painful, rusty hooks was the two to three foot nylon fishing line attached to one of them, running along the side of her otherwise flawless body.  As she swam about circling around us, I could see the line wrapping around her from the right corner of her jaw to her left pectoral fin, almost slicing into her side, causing the fin to twitch uncontrollably.  She was helpless to unwrap it.  To make matters even worse, a heavy, bright yellow fishing lure was attached to the end of this line.  This was undeniably creating unnecessary drag so strong that it was causing the hook to penetrate deeper and deeper into this helpless shark’s jaw.

She made several close passes within inches of me and it was one of the most heartbreaking sights that I’ve ever witnessed on a dive.  Sadly, she knew she was suffering but she had no idea why.  Had I not been immersed in this oceanic realm, I would have been shedding empathetic tears for this brave creature, as I myself have endured intense physical pain as a result of the carelessness of human behavior.  But her situation was far different from what mine was.  She had to fend for herself in an unforgiving environment, she received no sympathy or remorse from the fisherman (or men) who did this to her, and she had nobody to make this pain go away.  But that would change today.

I watched intently with my GoPro in hand as Liz worked endlessly to remove this line, and possibly one or more of the hooks, that made this vulnerable creature suffer greatly.  She lured the silky in, either with the promise of a fishy treat or piquing her curiosity with the flapping of her hands.  Once the shark was close, Liz would rub the sensitive electroreceptors beneath her snout to calm her, putting her in a more relaxed state.  But the silky shark was not quick to trust anyone as she escaped Liz’s clutches multiple times.  Finally, after watching this back and forth dance for the next half hour, Liz was successful in removing the hook with the fishing line and lure from this astonishing empress of the deep.

What I saw on this dive was not a man-eating monster as so many would have you believe.  What I saw was an innocent victim, a mere gentle soul, a misunderstood being who has been villainized for decades and now was suffering quietly and needlessly.  As much as I prefer to see multiple sharks, this silky shark was the only one to join us on this particular dive.  Nevertheless, it was a dive I was glad to have witnessed and one that I will never forget.  Yes, it was highly emotional and disturbing for me to see the careless, destructive nature of human activity and the impact it leaves on helpless, innocent creatures.  However, it also allowed me to see the positive impact that we, as shark divers and compassionate human beings, can have on the precious lives of our wildlife counterparts with whom we share this vast planet.